#Prettyboy Must Die is a spy novel with a comedic edge. It follows a seventeen-year-old black CIA agent and hacker, who arguably a genius, named Jake. He is working undercover at a prestigious high school called Carlisle Academy, for those who exceed academically. Jake is there to uncover a hacker, his lead suspects being any of the new students, notably the senior students. However, his identity could potentially be revealed when a picture of him goes viral on Twitter, calling him “Prettyboy”. A tagline of this book is that it’s ‘inspired by #AlexFromTarget, which is where that connection is.

One of the books strongest points is the characters. It’s understandable why Jake is in the CIA at seventeen, as he shows a lot of intelligence, mostly in tech and hacking, but also shows in chemistry. He is also able to speak eight languages. His closest friend is a boy named Bunker, who is a strange character and the comedic relief. His character is unique as he spent fifteen years in a bunker – hence the nickname – due to his father believing in the Year 2000 conspiracy theory. He is also suspicious of Jake after he saw him beat up multiple guys and drills him with questions. The other major character is Katie who is the love interest of sorts. I adored Katie. She was an intelligent character and also one who didn’t take people belittling her. She was so much fun to read about, especially since so much mystery surrounds her (but not in a manic pixie dream girl sort of way).

The plot was done really well and there were mystery elements to it, since it was a thriller. Although, it did feel kind of limited with the setting, as the entire book takes place at Carlisle Academy. The author did use the setting well but it did make the book drag at times as there’s only so much you can do in a high school setting. The start of the novel was also really slow, mostly because the author spent time introducing the characters, the main conflict, and threat. It took until 26% of the book for it to really start. But once it does pass the slow start, it gets difficult to put down as the plot gets more and more intense.

Overall, #Prettyboy Must Die was both a fun and gripping spy novel and was a great read.

Warning: Spoilers ahead

<blockquote><i>”’Do you know what I hate more than guys telling me not to worry?’ Katie asked.

‘Um, no?’ [sic]

‘Guys condescending to me. Now get out of my way before I make you regret doing that.’”</i></blockquote>

I am seriously so incredibly disappointed. Teen spy novels fill a niche in my reader heart -- but it’s hard to find good, original ones that are actually believable. A teen thriller based on the #AlexFromTarget story sounds amazing, yes, but the actual novel had one main issue: lot inconsistencies.

<b><u>Part One: Spoiler-free general overview</u></b>

<u>Characters</u>

I loved how much diversity there was in this novel!! Teen thrillers are an area where diversity most seems lacking and there was so much in here. It warmed my heart. Peter was kind of annoying, but the balance between teen boy and spy-hacker working for the CIA was met, and so I can’t say I found his character unsatisfactory. Katie was my favorite character -- duh, she’s the greatest -- and I enjoyed watching her and Peter’s relationship throughout the course of the book. I don’t want to spoil anything about either of their character development, but it’s awesome.

Bunker seemed a little like a strange choice for a main character writing-wise, but he contributed a lot towards the humor factor of the novel and I couldn’t help but love him. He was <i>#PrettyBoy Must Die</i>’s very own Kimmy Schmidt.

<u>Writing Style</u>

The writing was really easy to follow, which was nice. It was also really funny in an awkward sort of way, which I loved. I didn’t feel as though a lot of research was put into the novel about different spy stuff, but that’s a minor misstep that I’m willing to overlook. Even though all of the vocabulary was there, besides that it felt like all the information was based off of other YA spy novels, which was kind of meh.

<u>Plot</u>

The plot is where I had the most issues with this one. It started off great, but around 55% in I started to notice a wide range of discrepancies, from minor inconsistencies to great, gaping holes. Though I could have been able to brush off just one or two, the sheer number of discrepancies is impossible to ignore.

<b><u>Part Two: Spoiler-filled Analysis</u></b>

<spoiler>Mmkay. There were just so many plot holes and things that didn’t make sense to me. I can’t ignore it. I’m just going to list all the ones that I noticed and highlighted, though there’s a great possibility that there may be even more.

Chapter 19: <blockquote><i>”It’s the last thing I hear before the room is suddenly filled with smoke.”</i></blockquote> Okay…. Okay. So the room fills with smoke, Peter is like wtf, and Katie comes to the rescue. My question is: Why didn’t the fire alarm go off? If the room is filled with smoke wouldn’t that trigger the smoke detector? And even if it didn’t set off the fire alarm, the smoke is literally never mentioned again and Peter and everyone else can see and smell everything perfectly clearly and nobody is coughing, as if the smoke just magically dissipated, even though all the windows are shut and secured with bulletproof glass. What happened to the smoke?
Going back to the whole smoke detector thing -- since the school is on heavy lockdown, wouldn’t setting off the fire alarm probably trigger an automatic removal of the shutters over the doors? The school wouldn’t want all the students and teachers being trapped in the building in the case of a fire, would they? And if it did automatically remove the shutters from the doors, why didn’t Peter just set off the smoke alarm in the first place in order to get everyone out of the school? That seems much easier.
This whole thing with Detective Andrews. At first, they think she’s a fake cop, but then they realize that she is a real cop, just a dirty one. What I want to know, is why was Andrews so sloppy if she was an actual cop? The whole “fake cop” thing starts because she doesn’t follow protocol, first with telling the headmistress why the “bank robbers” were at Carlisle (she was too blunt! She must be fake because that’s not procedure!) and second when she goes into the library and doesn’t perform a full sweep (<i>”’She even polices like a fake. A real officer would have swept the place anyway.’”</i>). Why didn’t she follow procedure? There is literally no reason for her to break actual cop procedure, as people would maybe suspect that she’s not a real cop (and they did!) so why?? It doesn’t make sense.
It also leads me back to another point: there is a part where Peter says that the bad guys look like “bank robbers from a movie” and not real life ones, and obviously Detective Andrews would know what real bank robbers look like because she’s a cop, so why did they do it that way? Wouldn’t it have been much neater to actually be realistic past initial startling?
Chapter 29: <blockquote><i>”’There has been chatter for weeks now that Vadim Koval had been planning a hostile takeover of Marchuk’s arms trade while also proving to the terrorist world that he can provide even better service than the old man did.’”</i></blockquote> If there has been chatter for weeks then why hasn’t the CIA attempted to ascertain Koval’s location? It can’t be that hard to track him to Carlisle, can it? And, correct me if I’m wrong because I’m not a hundred percent sure, doesn’t Katie know who he is from the beginning? So doesn’t that mean that MI6 probably knows too? Why didn’t Koval taking up a job at a school where both Peter and Joel were set off any red flags? And on that same note, I thought that security at the school was supposed to be capital-A Amazing, so why didn’t the background check and thorough digging on both Koval and the groundskeeper come up with anything?
This is a big ol’ campus full of rich kids, and yet <i>everything</i> -- every classroom, the auditorium, and the front office -- are all inside the same huge building? Wouldn’t a super rich school have a sprawling campus with multiple buildings?
Okay, this may just be me, but the whole situation with Joel Easter and his dad did not make sense. The space of the actual action of the novel happens over the course of like 1-2 hours, yeah? But the book itself says that Mr. Easter would have to download the code in bits, which would take awhile, and then exit the compound, drive to the school, and reassemble it, which would also take a while. So how the hell did the terrorists threaten him with his son’s life?? “Oh btw, we are going to take your son hostage in like two hours so you better be here stat with the code so uh yeah” the timelines just don’t match up.
Honestly, the overall plot in GENERAL just did not make sense or connect with me. I mean, I get it, the Kovals had to make it look like the CIA killed Marchuk so they could more seamlessly take over the crime syndicate, blah blah blah, but honestly, the whole operation just felt sloppy. There has to be an easier, simpler way to make it look like the CIA killed Marchuk, and also kill Peter, plus get the launch codes, than taking an entire school hostage. There were just <i>so</i> many liabilities. Peter goes on jogs at night! Couldn’t they just kidnap him, hold him for ransom, then when the CIA comes a-knocking, kill Marchuk and make it look like the CIA? Same with Joel! We’ve established that Joel’s dad would do anything or his son so why take an entire school hostage with only six people when you could tighten the list of hostages to two? It just seems so sloppy. </spoiler>


To conclude, I would only recommend this book if you can completely ignore anything that has to do with the plot. Otherwise, it won’t be enjoyable. I’m really disappointed and wished this had been better. Ugh.

***I received an ARC of this book to provide an honest review***

Normally when I read YA I go for the intense stuff. I wasn't sure what kinda vibe PBMD would have, but I figured I'd give it a try. It turned out to be a lot more light-hearted and silly than I'd anticipated, but that isn't a bad thing.

<b>"All that gym time required of my CIA training hasn't hurt it either, but damn, these girls are jockin' me."</b>

Teenage CIA operative "Peter Smith" ends up in a Colorado boarding school chasing down a hacker. After a photo of him taken by a classmate goes viral Peter's cover is blown. Suddenly there's a LOT going on at his school - in the form of repelling mercenaries, kidnapping, spies, counter-spies and a handful of near-death experiences..for everyone. And a little romance.

<b>"I hold her like it will be the last time. She kisses me again like it's only a preview of more to come."</b>

<a href="http://www.alleskelle.com/"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1471716947r/20097901.jpg?v=1471716951482"width="400"></a>

Very cute read! Excellent timing and plot execution.

I enjoyed the plot of this book and loved the diversity in it. The characters were really fun and interesting. I absolutely adored Bunker. At the end I found myself confused a few times with all of the twists and turns and mention of characters that I wasn't sure who they were, but all in all a fun, quick read that older fans of Alex Rider and Jason Steed should love.
I felt like there was way too much bad language in it, so I am not sure if I will purchase this for my middle school library. I will have to say, though, that the bad language felt realistic and not gratuitous. There were some pretty tense situations happening throughout, and the bad language was mostly contained to those situations.
Thanks for the loan. I will post a review on Goodreads closer to the release of the book.

This is a really cute read.

Sure, you sometimes need to turn off your logic sensors. Every so often your brain pops in and reminds you of the fact that the African American Teenage Spy working for the CIA who speaks three languages and manages to somehow convince Ukrainian mobsters that he’s a Ukrainian Speaking Tunisian Food Deliver Boy is (whew!) slightly unbelievable.

But, give it a minute because soon you just won’t care. You’ll be too busy enjoying the story. It’s fun, suspenseful, and a little bit silly. And Prettyboy is pretty cool.

This is an over the top adventure – a pure fun adrenaline rush – and I’m very glad I got to read it!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley